Tulsi Gabbard, who is leaving her job as Director of National Intelligence
(DNI), released declassified documents on Friday that she said showed new proof that the US funds bio-labs in more than 30 countries, including Ukraine. The documents, which were still partially redacted, showed the locations of different labs that “likely housed dangerous pathogens” and what they did.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) said some of the labs were vulnerable because of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, but had been intentionally covered up by previous administrations. “Despite the obvious potential for catastrophic global impact research on dangerous pathogens in biolabs can have, politicians, so-called health professionals like Dr. Fauci, and entities within the Biden administration’s national security team lied to the American people about the existence of U.S.-funded and supported biolabs, and threatened those who attempted to expose the truth,” Gabbard said in a press release.
Gabbard made the documents public in April, but they weren’t made public until Friday.
They say that the United States helped build more than 40 labs in Ukraine.
Slides show the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Veterinary Medicine (IECVM) in Kharkiv.
Some of the most important things about the site are the following:
–Houses “at least some dangerous pathogens” –Has “almost certainly” been vulnerable to Russian information operations, seizure, or damage –Has historical ties to Soviet-era biological research
Conducts work on:
–Veterinary medicine –Virology –Toxicology
There is also a claim that the facility had biosafety deficiencies, especially in areas handling Brucella bacteria, and that a virology building basement exists.
Some of the pathogens handled or stored at the labs included anthrax, Ebola, and swine fever.
Below is a picture of the map:
The documents also make it clear that US involvement is not limited
to infrastructure, but also includes training Ukrainian scientists in biocontainment practices and funding research into infectious diseases, such as studies on highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The intelligence assessment mostly expresses risk.
It also raises concerns that some of the facilities could be vulnerable in a conflict environment, both physically, through potential damage or seizure, and informationally, by being used in foreign narratives.
One lab in Kharkiv is pointed out as having dangerous pathogens and being at risk of security breaches and Russian claims of U.S.-linked biological weapons activity.
Slides frequently point to the possibility of such sites being used for “information operations,” and Moscow has already accused the U.S. of carrying out biological weapons work at Ukrainian facilities.
The papers confirm something relatively narrow but important: there is documented U.S. funding and collaboration with Ukrainian laboratories handling high-risk pathogens for research, diagnostic, and public health purposes.
It also indicates that the labs are part of a larger scientific and biodefense network that includes contractors, government support, and international research partnerships.
But the slides leave big gaps.
They mention allegations that the facilities are involved in offensive biological weapons development, but there doesn’t seem to be any direct evidence of those claims.
The briefing is also limited, with redactions and high-level summaries that do not fully explain oversight structures, the exact nature of all research being conducted, or how widespread any identified biosafety concerns might be.
Together, the materials show a U.S.-supported biological research infrastructure in Ukraine and describe the dangers it poses, especially in a wartime and information warfare environment, without providing evidence of more serious allegations of illicit weapons activity.
“ODNI will continue to work closely with partners across the government to identify where these labs are, what pathogens they contain to end dangerous Gain-of-Function research that threatens the health and wellbeing of the American people and people around the world,” Gabbard said in a press release.
The ODNI said Friday that evidence of the full existence and funding of these labs had been intentionally withheld from the American people by “powerful people” who denied their existence
